Power Tune

homer911

Has anyone ever heard of this or used it?

http://www.powertune.com.my/index.html

I got a flyer through the door the other day for a local reseller of this, but his website doesn't seem to be up and running yet. He was advertising savings of up to 25% on your electricity cost.

Priced from €195+VAT sounds a bit steep for just plugging something into a socket

Projected savings sound too good to be true...

Capt'n Midnight

Domestic users get charged a different power factor correction than business users.


IIRC these things are not someting you want electronic devices plugged into, TV's and PC's like clean power, possibly they could be upset by haveing one of these devices on the same ring ?

They might be ok for motors, like in fridges.
I'm not sure if they benefit for heaters though.

Overall the work by turning on and off mid cycle, and only benefit domestic customers , and IIRC they aren't green because they rely on larger generators at the ESB side to cater for the increased peak current.



oh yeah it is WAY overpriced , you should be able to pick this sort of thing up for $25 tops , it is just some electronics and a triac

Capt'n Midnight

Aldi / Lidl did a power monitor for a tenner so you can measure if these devices work.


I was wrong about the $25 though

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.29775
Electricity Saving Box (UK Plug/90~250V)
Price: $10.64 free shipping

And yes they do ship to Ireland for free,

Hoagy

Some information about these devices here

djpbarry

I think this is more suited to one of the Tech fora.

Moved from Green Issues.

Solvit

Having extensive knowledge of the Electricity industry & many years of Electricity Metering experience, I want to state that this device is a scam.
This device is a simple power factor correction device and is of no benifit for reducing electricity consumption for Domestic users. Domestic Electricity meters in Ireland measure the active component of the power used (measured in Kilo Watts over time measured in hours, hence one unity of electricity measured is 1 Kilo Watt Hour (kWh)). Inductive loads such as flourecent lights, motors & fridges cause (in simple terms) reactive power, known as kilo Vars. This reactive component is not measured by domestic meters but in some commercial installations this component is measured using a kilo Var Hour meter (kVarh meter).
People promoting the Power tune device show how current is reduced when they plug it in, (usually by means of a grip ammeter) and they claim this reduction in current will reduce your electricity consumption and thus your bill. This is simply not true. The power tune device reduces down the reactive current in the circuit, but it does not reduce the active current. Since domestic electricity meters only measure using the Active current, and this is what you get billed on , the power tune device will NOT REDUCE YOUR ELECTRICTY BILL.
I have completed testing using a power tune device and a number of different load types and electricity meter types, and the Power tune device did nothing to reduce the energy recorded.
Keep your money, or spend it on a few timers to switch off un-necessary loads, or change your lighting for some cfl bulbs. But do not buy the power tune device.

cleveroli

i had an optimizer installed -NOT POWERTUNE!!! (when I rang them to ask how it works they just gave me the jargon off the website and said they havent any complaints..what???!!!!:mad:-) so I tried Wattasaver after finding their website and I def have a reduction on my bill - I also got a monitor which shows where my money is going - my god the iron/hoover they have got to go:eek: I really pushed this crowd to see how the savings work before I bought and they have trialled it on house meters not just on lights - my mind is open to anything that saves me money!!! The electrician had it all installed less than an hour and a half. I have also noticed that my shower isnt as loud
when turned on..but its def another thing you need to get in and out of quickly. :mad: They were very helpful I didnt feel pressured and they seem to genuinely want to find products to save money so Ill be checking their website- I just lost my job so need to be picky - I prefer to buy something where I can walk in and see it working and see actual people - not off a website so thats why I bought off them, but hey thats for others to decide.

rossy47

Any one else think that power tune is a scam im in 2 minds now at this stage someone with some sound knowledge please explain....

brightspark

Discussed extensively on this thread

http://wwww.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055704254

Bruthal

rossy47 wrote: »

Any one else think that power tune is a scam im in 2 minds now at this stage someone with some sound knowledge please explain....

Yes i dont think these devices will do anything for your domestic electricity bill.

Even if someone puts an amp meter on the supply into the house and even if these devices do correct power factor and so reduce the current flow into the house, it will make no difference to your electricity bill.

If a motor in a house takes 10 amps, and it has a power factor of 0.9, then correcting its power factor will reduce the current drawn to just over 9 amps, because the motor uses 9 amps to do its work and the 1 amp is out of phase with the voltage, so in effect 10 amps is drawn to give the motor its useful 9 amps. An ameter will show this reduction in amps drawn if the power factor was indeed corrected by the power tune device (assuming it actually does anything).
But the big thing is, the electricity meter does not measure the out of phase current, it only measures that 9 amps the motor actually uses to do its work because its a watt meter and does not measure wattless power.

So in short these devices will not reduce what your bill says on it. Not in any way i can see anyway

Just lookin at solvit`s post after i wrote my one, that should be enough evidence there